Koa Canoe Blessing

Published: 2006.08.01 12:00 AM

Kahu Kordell Kekoa blesses the recently rebuilt Moloka‘i. After five years of waiting, more than 100 members of the KOA KAI CANOE CLUB gathered at Ke‘ehi Lagoon on July 1 to celebrate the completion of their first Hawaiian koa canoe. Since purchasing the canoe in 2001, the club has fund-raised to rebuild the 46-foot, 426-pound vessel, bringing it up to racing specifications just in time for the long-distance paddling season, which starts this month. “It’s really a feeling of awe, after everything that we’ve gone through, that we finally have a piece of Hawaiian culture like this,” says Koa Kai women’s coach Tambry Young. photo: Monte Costa